This invention relates to the cable and cable packs used in oceanographic devices or buoys and, more particularly, to a method and apparatus that enables the winding of extremely long lengths of such cable into cable packs that are used in these devices without placing a partial twist into the cable axis, which will then allow a torque-free cable payout.
Oceanographic devices or buoys, especially those oriented horizontally, can require extremely long lengths (sometimes exceeding 12,000 feet) of delicate communications cable. In many cases, there are at least two distinct parts of the device that must stay connected by the cable while they drift apart. The desigers of these devices attempt to build all of the necessary components, including the length of cable, into a very efficient and small package. A typical packaging method used for the cable is to wind the cable up on a mandrel and then withdraw the mandrel and leave the cable formed into a cable pack. A single feed spool and a single take-up spool are used and because no twist was formed as the cable was being wound, when the cable payed out from the pack, kinks or curls would appear in the cable as it unwound. U.S. Pat. No. 3,281,765 provides a dramatic illustration of the result.
Attempts at solving this problem centered on introducing a "backtwist" into the cable as it was wound. This involved rotating the supply spool so that the eventual payout twist would be cancelled by the backtwist. A sophisticated and costly machine, and careful monitoring, are necessary for this technique to be successful.